Mr Fillon hopes to follow in the footsteps of previous Republican presidents, including Charles de Gaulle, Valery Giscard d’Estaing and Jacques Chirac.

:: If elected

Video:Fillon’s wife denies being his paid assistant

The self-professed Thatcherite wants to end the 35-hour working week in France; cut 500,000 civil service jobs; slash public spending by €100bn; abolish wealth tax; reduce immigration and invest €12bn in security, defence and justice.

He has promised to take on the inevitable backlash from unions if his pledges are bought in.

One of the problems he faces though is sounding a different note to the far-right in France, headed by the National Front, and he has called for a “restructuring” of French politics – echoing similar calls made by US President Donald Trump.